Stranded
by Lady Rosalia
Summary: 2029; The Doctor is stranded on earth for a week, where he meets a young Torchwood employee named Lily. Suprises in his week of "Domesticity" come aplenty and some unexpected faces may pop up (not a romance fic).


_The sound of running echoes through the backstreets of night-time London. Footsteps clatter and laboured breathes pollute the air as an almighty chase takes place that has the potential to threaten the entire universe should the hunter not catch her prey. _

'Why did I sign up to this?' Lily thought as she chased after the alien.

'I could be doing something else…anything else…I could be travelling around the world, or reading a book, or having a cup of tea, but no, I'm chasing after some bloody alien' She ranted in her head as she dashed around the corner. The alien was in reach, if only she could run slightly faster. As this thought left her head she ran into something big and slightly hard but in a soft way. She fell to the floor and with it swore loudly.

"Alright, no need for that is there?" Said the thing she had run into.

"Who the hell are you?" Lily asked.

"I'm the Doctor, pleased to meet you," he said, helping her up, "And who are you?"

"Dr Lily Smith, now if you don't mind I'm kinda busy." Lily replied, dusting herself down and taking the sight of the odd-looking man in.

"Chasing that alien? Me too! Why don't we do it together?" The Doctor asked grinning madly whilst straightening his bowtie.

"What? How…? Who do you work for?" She asked, puzzled.

"Oh me? I'm freelance. Now come on, we best get off after him. Particularly nasty are the Draxicobians." He said as he took his Sonic Screwdriver out of his pocket and began to run down the side-street.

"Wait," Cried Lily, running after him, "You know what it is?"

"Know what it is? I once went on a date with one, well…it was more of a hostage situation, I didn't want to be there although I did have a good meal-THERE HE IS!"

The Doctor shone the Sonic Screwdrivers light into the face of the alien that was now trapped down an alleyway. It looked like a crocodile that had figured out how to stand up and put on clothes, except instead of having 2 eyes it had four. The Doctor made a noise that could only be described as howling rhythmically, and the alien replied in the same manner. Lily looked on baffled and bewildered. Suddenly, the alien was beamed up into the sky.

"What just happened? Did it get away?" Lily asked, confused.

"Yes, but don't worry, it wasn't a Draxicobian after all, it was simply lost. It was from a rather nice race called the Ibelitronats. Same planet as the Draxicobians, but slightly different. Think of them as cousins," The Doctor explained, as he put his Sonic Screwdriver back into his pocket, "Anyway, so you are a Doctor? You look as if you are in you late teens, how did you manage that?"

"I'm 19. I was skipped ahead a few years and got my Doctorate 2 months ago, but never mind that, how do you know all that stuff?"

"I travel around a bit. What about you? Why were you chasing it?"

"I work at Torchwood, I'm head of Inter-Planetary Relations which essentially means I'm in charge of aliens and stuff."

The Doctor and Lily started walking back through the streets. The Doctor looked at her in a slightly puzzled way, "Torchwood?" he asked, "I thought that had closed down."

"Yeah, but years ago. Before I was born. Now we are massive institution, all over the world, but the main one is here in London." Lily explained.

"Really? What year is this?"

It was Lily's turn to look puzzled, "2029…Are you drunk?"

"No…as I told you, I'm a traveller, I've just been…away a lot." The Doctor said shiftily.

"Where've you been travelling? Time?" Lily joked, laughing.

"Well now you mention it…." The Doctor replied, slightly sheepishly.

"You travel in time? Oh my god! Can I see your time machine?" Lily asked, her eyes wide, a huge smile on her face.

"Well, I travel in space as well…only I crashed her and my ship is a bit…broken," The Doctor replied, a slightly sad look on his face, "not forever, just for the next 170 hours while she repairs herself, but it means I can't get in...so no you can't see her."

"Oh," Lily sighed, "So what you gonna do for the next week?" She asked him.

"Umm…well, I don't know. Find somewhere to stay I suppose."

They were now walking along a lit road full of takeaway shops and drunken people, the glories of London at midnight.

"You could always…kip on my sofa. And come and work for me for a bit. You obviously know your stuff." Lily said shyly.

"Well…yeah, I guess I could, but you hardly know me…And what would your parents think?" The Doctor replied, bowing his head slightly.

"I know, but I feel like I can trust you. Anyone who can tell me about the Ibelitronats and Draxicobians is ok in my book. And don't worry about them, they don't even have to know. I don't live with them."

"Oh. Well in that case, I would love to 'kip on your sofa' and have a go at working at Torchwood!" The Doctor replied with a grin.

"It will only be as an assistant to me, I can't have you on missions and stuff, it would raise too many suspicions." Lily warned.

"I can be an assistant!" He linked his arm through hers, "see, I'm assisting you now!"

Lily laughed, "Ok then, I just have one question, what is your name?"

"The Doctor."

"Just the Doctor?" She asked turning to look at him.

"Yep. That's it." He smiled.

"Well we can't introduce you to people like that, pick a proper name." She said defiantly.

"John Smith." He said instantly.

"No, you can't be John Smith, that's my Dad's name."

"So?"

"Because…you just can't." She insisted.

"Ok, I will be John Pond. Is that ok?"

"Alright Mr Pond it is then, here's my flat" She said stopped walking and opened the door to the rather posh-looking block. They walked up some stairs and stopped on the second floor, where Lily pulled out a key and unlocked the door unveiling a massive apartment.

She flicked on the light and the Doctor saw her properly for the first time. She was slim and had long brown hair, almost down to her stomach and was wearing a beaten up leather jacket, a blue dress and a pair of converse that looked like they had seen better days. She had deep brown eyes and a big smile which she was showing to him as she welcomed him to his temporary home.

"Very nice." He told her, as his eyes flickered to the wall to his right which was lined with bookcases and photos.

"Thanks, my parents did chip in a little. My Dad insisted that I live somewhere nice if I wasn't going to live at home." She said, as she went to pick up one of the framed pictures, dusted the top and set it back down.

"Why did you leave?" He asked, walking over to her.

"These are my brothers," She said, pointing to a photo showing 3 small boys, "They are aged 8, 6 and 3. I couldn't cope with the noise, not with such difficult work. I need calm and quiet sometimes. I go over there most days, they are only 10 minutes away, but I need somewhere that's just for me." She explained.

"That's quite an age difference" The Doctor remarked.

"Well, I had a little sister, 2 years younger than me. Isabel. But…she died when she was 4. It obviously affected my parents very badly, particularly my Dad." She said, sadly.

The Doctor nodded, understanding how she felt, "My brothers and sisters died too." He said, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

She looked up at him, "Why does it feel I've known you my whole life?" She whispered. A slightly awkward quite fell between them.

The sound of a phone ringing broke the silence; Lily pulled her mobile out of her pocket.

"Hello? Oh hi…no I've just got in, the alien wasn't hostile, they were just lost…ok, I will fill out the paperwork tomorrow…ok…bye" She hung up the phone and placed it into her pocket,

"It was the boss," she explained to the Doctor, "Anyway, time for bed. Bathroom is first door on your left down the hall, blankets are in the cupboard opposite, night." She said in a rush, leaving the Doctor alone to his thoughts.

Something puzzled him about this girl, he felt connected to her in some way, not in a romantic way, just…connected. Frustrated that he couldn't figure it out and didn't have the TARDIS to help him he flopped down on the sofa and closed his eyes.

**A/N-Well thanks for reading, if you liked it or have constructive criticism you know what to do ;-) Chapter 2 coming soon **


End file.
